Recent judgments

Fraud sentencing requires an assessment of the evidence of victim impact. A sentencer should avoid generalised assumptions that victims who supplied no…

The change of position defence requires good faith, a sufficient connection with the payment and detriment making restitution inequitable. Mere negligence does…

A director relying on subsequent unanimous shareholder authorisation under section 159(9) of the Companies Act 2001 must plead and establish that defence to…

A fiduciary’s core duties of loyalty, no conflict and no profit do not create a separate fiduciary cause of action for non-disclosure. Disclosure is instead…

Dishonesty requires two stages. The court must first ascertain the defendant’s actual knowledge and beliefs. It must then assess the conduct, given that state…

Whether a foreign judgment precludes re-litigation by issue estoppel is governed by the lex fori. It concerns the receiving court’s treatment of an earlier…

For the purposes of Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, section 9, the available amount is calculated by adding separate components: free property after priority…

In a criminal appeal, the jury remain the tribunal of fact. The Court of Appeal must not conduct a second trial or substitute its assessment of credibility for…

The Child Focused Court model changes procedure and culture, but not the substantive law governing private-law children cases. The child’s welfare remains…

Under Extradition Act 2003, section 179 requires the Secretary of State to choose priority between competing extradition claims by reference to matters…

A non-party is directly affected for the purposes of CPR r 40.9 where an order is prima facie capable of materially and adversely affecting a legally…

For causing serious injury by dangerous driving, an obviously highly dangerous overtaking manoeuvre and speed highly inappropriate for the road conditions…

A party served with an SFR1 forensic summary must respond promptly, identifying the conclusions admitted and the disputed issues concerning any conclusions not…

Wounding with intent to resist lawful apprehension is not invariably less culpable than wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Any difference in…

A minimum term judicially fixed for a person detained during His Majesty’s pleasure is not rendered arbitrary under article 5 of the European Convention on…

A sentencing court must specify the credit period to which an offender is entitled for time spent on bail subject to a qualifying curfew and electronic…

A challenge to the percentage reduction for a guilty plea is immaterial where subsequent adjustments for totality produced the lowest sentence the judge…

Where no offence category sufficiently resembles the offender’s case, a sentencing court may select a sentence without adopting a category starting point. The…

A delay or other procedural irregularity does not, without more, justify setting aside a judgment. The appellate court must consider whether delay has made the…

A free-standing application for a freezing injunction is not a claim under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 37(1), for the purpose of the enactment gateway in…

In a trespass and possession claim concerning unregistered land, the claimant need prove only a better right to possession than the defendant.…

In a solicitor-and-own-client assessment, the statutory jurisdiction concerns the amount properly chargeable under the solicitor’s bill and the resulting…

On a reference alleging undue leniency, the question is whether the sentence falls outside the range which a judge could reasonably impose. Particular…

Section 30(1) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 disapplies the indemnity principle only insofar as legal-aid funding makes the…

A contracting party generally recovers damages only for its own loss. Transferred loss is a limited exception, founded on the parties’ common intention and…

Attempted sexual offending against an adult decoy is assessed by reference to the intended conduct. Remote offending attracts the same approach to seriousness…

For an adult offender whose sentence is no more than 12 months and is capable of suspension, section 277A of the Sentencing Act 2020 requires a suspended…

Previous convictions admitted as bad-character evidence must have real probative value for the issue identified. Convictions for sexual offending committed…

A guideline reduction for steps taken to address addiction or offending behaviour depends on a demonstrated connection between the substance misuse and the…

A costs practice protecting a court or tribunal which has acted judicially or quasi-judicially and remained neutral does not apply to a successful Human Rights…

Under a Torrens-model land registration regime, a general savings provision protecting Crown interests conferred by other legislation must be read consistently…

Interference with an unduly lenient sentence requires a conclusion outside the range properly open to the sentencing judge on the evidence. Witness…

Section 277A of the Sentencing Act 2020 creates a strong presumption that an adult custodial sentence of 12 months or less will be suspended. The sentence must…

A First-tier Tribunal decision that an immigration appeal is deemed abandoned under section 104(4A) is a preliminary decision for article 3(m) of the Appeals…

Expert evidence on confession reliability is properly excluded where it merely duplicates evidence already before the court or trespasses on the jury’s…

An indemnity for liability arising from an agent’s act or omission while performing duties under an agreement is ordinarily confined to conduct occurring when…

Where there is reason to doubt an adult’s capacity to make a decision relevant to a needs assessment, a local authority must obtain a capacity assessment under…

When care proceedings may conclude with a special guardianship order placing a child permanently with a local authority foster carer, the court must do more…

When determining an article 13(b) defence under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980, a court may consider the…

Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, reg 4(2)(a), does not transfer a transferor’s vicarious liability to a third party for…

A prosecution may amount to an abuse of process where those conducting it give an unequivocal assurance that no prosecution will be brought or continued, and…

For Article III rule 6 of the Hague-Visby Rules, a “suit” is substantive proceedings capable of determining the carrier’s liability for cargo loss or damage.…

Procedural fairness in sponsor-licence revocation is context-sensitive. Where the Secretary of State suspects dishonesty or reprehensible conduct, the…

For category 2 harm under the Definitive Guideline for rape, severe psychological harm must be substantially greater than harm inherent in rape generally.…

A decision whether to suspend a custodial sentence is an evaluative judgment, not an arithmetical exercise. Guideline factors must be weighed together, and a…

Section 1(1) of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 is a preventive offence aimed at carrying an offensive weapon with an intention to use it offensively formed…

An appellate court may replace a trial judge’s finding of primary fact only where it is plainly wrong: the finding must be one that no reasonable judge could…

On a reference under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, appellate interference requires more than a lenient sentence. The sentence must be unduly lenient…

For a reference under section 36 of Criminal Justice Act 1988, a properly given Goodyear indication does not limit the Law Officers’ discretion to refer a…

There is no presumption that a defendant in criminal proceedings will receive an intermediary. Appointment is exceptional and depends on whether communication…

Under Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, failure to give every eligible qualifying tenant a notice of invitation to…

An appellate court will rarely permit a party to advance an unpleaded and materially different case after trial. The court must consider the nature of the new…

Where a guilty plea is not entered as a result of a sentencing indication, the strict Goodyear procedure does not apply, even if the indication preceded the…

A protection or human-rights claim may be certified as clearly unfounded under Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 only where it is bound to fail. The…

Section 37 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 ordinarily prevents public reporting of proceedings, including publication of an appellate…

For a statutory application challenged on the ground that it was made or approved without authority, a bare assertion of authorisation is insufficient. Under…

An imprisonment for public protection sentence was unlawful where the offence was specified but did not satisfy the statutory definition of a serious offence.…

When an offender meets the criteria for a hospital order under the Mental Health Act 1983, the sentencing court must choose between a hospital and restriction…

A binding contract is identified objectively from the parties’ words and conduct, asking whether they intended legal relations and had agreed all essential…

On a sentence appeal, the issue is whether the sentence was wrong in principle or manifestly excessive, not whether the appellate court would have imposed a…